Liquid circulator



nv vevvfoe BRYANT EfiF/CK 9 rraP/vEY B. ESSICK LIQUID CIRCULATOR Filed Sept. 15', 1945 m l llllllil Jan. 18, 1949.

PJIIH Will I Patented Jan. 18, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention has to do with a liquid circulator and is more .particularly concerned with a unit involving, in combination, a simple rotary pump and an electrical motor for driving the pump. It is a general object of the invention to provide a device of the general character referred to which is highly efi'lcient and dependable in operation, at the same time being extremely simple and inexpensive of construction.

There are numerous situations where it is desired to pump or circulate liquids such, for in stance, as water, and where economy of operation is essential and at the same time it is important that the operation be dependable and uniform. An example of such a situation is an air cooler of the evaporative type wherein water is circulated over an evaporative pad, or the like. In such devices a small stream of water must be con stantly maintained and from a commercial standpoint, simplicity and economy of construction are highly important.

An object of my present invention is to provide a circulator for water, or the like, involving a very simple, inexpensive combination of a rotary pump, electric motor and frame supporting such elements. In accordance with my construction the pump is entirely free of bearings and the arrangement is such that the motor shaft carries the rotor of the pump so that it operates in the case of the pump without touching any part thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pump construction which is extremely simple, inexpensive and yet highly effioient. In the construction that I have provided the case of the pump is formed of two pieces of sheet metal and there is a permanent assembly of such pieces in which the rotor of the pump is permanently housed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a circulating device of the character referred to including a rotary pump handling a substantial volume of water and havinga natural tendency to create a circular motion of the body of water in which the pump is submerged, and including a baffie means which serves to effectively prevent or check such circular motion of the water.

In the ordinary rotary pump submerged in a body of water, as the pump operates there is a tendency for the entire body of water, and particularly the water in the vicinity of the inlet of the pump to start a circular or whirling motion, causing a whirlpool action which admits air into the pump. By my present invention I provide a baflle in connection with the pump that effectively checks or prevents the whirling action,

eliminating all danger of air entering the pump to cut down its efliciency.

The various objects and features of my invention will be fully understood from the following detailed description of a typical preferredform and application of the invention, throughout which description reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front or face elevation of the cir culator provided by my invention, showing it ready for application to a cooler or the like, where the pump element of the apparatus will be submerged in a body of water. Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 1, being a view taken substantially as indicated by line 2-2 on Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the structure shown in Fig. 2, being a view taken as indicated by line 3-3 on Fig. 2. Fig. t is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the structure shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 5 is a reduced sectional view taken on line 55 on Fig. 1.

The water eirculator provided by my present invention can be used in various situations where it is desired to circulate water or other such liquids. In the drawings I have shown a form and arrangement of the present invention particularly suited for use in evaporative coolers for circulating the water employed to wet the evaporative pad or pads thereof, it being understood that I do not wish to thereby limit my invention to these or any other specific details.

The structure that I have provided involves, generally, a pump A which is a rotary pump, an electric motor B for driving the pump, a frame C mounting or supporting the pump and motor mounting means D by which the motor is mounted on the frame, and a baflle means E acting to prevent circular or whirling motion of the water in which the pump is submerged.

The pump A which I have provided and which involves several unique features of construction includes, generally, two end plates l0 and H, a. peripheral or side plate l'2, and a rotor 13 operable in the case formed by the plates 10 and II and the side plate l2.

The side plates l0 and H may be plain, flat sheet metal plates suitably spaced apart to accommodate the rotor 13 and it is preferred that each of the plates has a central inlet opening M. In the preferred construction one of the end or side plates, for instance, in' the arrangement shown in the drawings, the upper plate ID, has the side plate 12 formedintegrally with it and the side plate extends from the plate ID to the plate H where it has an outwardly extending or outwardly turned flange I 5 which is joined to the plate ll.

In accordance with my invention I permanently integrally join the flange l5 of the side plate it to the end plate I I as by welding W. In the particular form of the invention illustrated the flange l5 and the plate II are Welded together at a plurality of points or spots, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, so that these parts are integrally joined making the case a permanent or integral unit.

In accordance with my invention the rotor l3 is arranged within or between the two sections of the case when they are permanently joined to gether, as otherwise it would be impossible to get the rotor into the case.

The rotor l3 provided by my invention may be a simple, flat plate, round in plan configuration and mounted on the motor shaft to be concentrically arranged in the case just described. In

parts adjacent the cuts. Thismakes a very simple, inexpensive construction.

The frame C provided by my invention-may be varied in size, shape and character, depending upon the situation in which the unit is to be used. In the particular case illustrated the frame involves a simple base plate which is a flat sheet metal plate having marginal flanges 3| which project from the forward or front side of the base plate and serve to stiffen the frame. The plate 30 may be provided with openings to accommodate screws 33, or the like, by which the plate can be made fast to a suitable support.

The pump A that I'have provided is preferably located at the lower end portion of the frame C. In accordance with the preferred form of my invention the outer edge or marginal portion of the bottom plate H of the pump case is formed with a depending flange which fits against the plate 3!] and also engages and seats between the flanges 3i In practice I permanently secure, for instance spot weld, the flange 35 of the pump to the frame parts engaged by the flange, so that the pump is permanently and rigidly secured to the lower end portion of the frame. By forming the mounting flange 35 of the pump so that it 'depends, as shown in the drawings, I assure spacing of the bottom plate II from the bottom of a container in which the structure may be located to-assure adequate water supply to the inlet opening Min the plate .I I.

The motor B provided for driving the pump is ,preferably a simple, electric motor sealed in a case 40 and having a motor shaft 20 which prostraps with'flanges 5| at their innerendspermanently secured to the plate 30 of the frame, as by welding 52, and having flanges 53 attheir outer ends joined by a suitable clamp screw 54.

In practice a suitable pad or lining 55is ar- 1 ranged between the straps 50 and the motor case.

with the arrangement that I have provided and which is clearly illustrated in Fig. 1, the screw 54 can be tightened causing the motor to be firmly gripped and held stationary relative to the frame Cso that the shaft 20 depends and projects into the case of the pump A.

It is to be observed that the opening M in the top plate ill of the pump case is considerably screw threads 50 on the end portion of the motor shaft, that is on thepart of the shaft which-projects into the pump case, and I provide'a p air are readily accessible through the openings [4 in e tion of the nuts.

of nuts 6 l on the threaded part of the motor. shaft, and I clamp the rotor of the pump between-the nuts. ,With this arrangement it is a very simple matter to assemble the constructionandmakethe rotor of the pump fast on the shaft in theproper position in the motor case. At any time that ft he motor should give trouble or should require replacement it is a simple matter to separate the pump rotor from the shaft by'suitable manipulanuts 61 on the shaft which hold the pumprotor the end plates of the pump case. I

The baflle means E that I have provided preferably involves a simple baflle' plate is arranged vertically above the case ofjthe pump to extend in a substantially radial direction from a point adjacent the shaft 20. The baffle may be a fixed baffle secured to any suitable fixed part of the structure. In the particular case illustrated I have shown the baflie provided with a mounting flange H which issecured to the base plate 30 of the frame C by welding 12. arranged close to the'top of the pump case and may touch it or be somewhat spaced. from it, as circumstances require. The inner end 150i the baffle is spaced slightly from the shaft 26 so that the baffle in no way interferes with-theoperation of the motor shaft. a v

In operation the unit that I have described is mounted in a fixed position so that the casepf the pump A and partor all of the baflie m are submerged in a body of water which is thew'ater to be pumped. The motor is set in operation and as it operates the fan 40 circulates air in a manner to keep the motor cool and the collar 122 prevents water from creeping up the shaft into the motor.

As the motor operates the shaft 28 drives the rotor l3 at a high speed'causing a circular motion of the water in the case. This causes water to be drawn into the case through the openings M and thewater thus drawn into the case is delivered from the case to the outlet pipe 86 which is connected to the side wall I2 of the pumpand which may be extended to any suitable point or may have any suitable conduit connectedtozit.

The pipe is located at the peripheral part of the pump case and is preferably tangential thereto, as shown in Fig. 2, to effectively handle the flow created by the rotation of therotor it. As the pump rotates any tendency for "the body ofwater in which the pump is rotated, and particularly the water immediately surroundingthe It is to be observed that the The bafile IQ- is shaft 20, to rotate or form a whirlpool action is eliminated by the baflie '10 so that the pump is always maintained fully submerged and no air gets into it unless, indeed, the level of water drops so low that air enters the pump rather than Water.

Having described only a typical preferred form and application of the invention, I do not wish to be limited or restricted to the specific details herein set forth, but wish to reserve to myself any variations or modifications that may appear to those skilled in the art, and fall within the scope of the following claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In combination a vertical frame member, a motor carried by the frame member and having a depending shaft, a liquid handling pump carried by the frame below the motor and including a case member with a central inlet opening into which the shaft extends with clearance and a rotor in the case member driven by the shaft, there being a peripheral outlet opening in said case, a vertically disposed baflle plate above the case member carried by one of the members and extending radially relative to the shaft to a point in the vicinity of the inlet opening to check circular motion of liquid in the vicinity of said open 2. In combination a vertical frame, a motor carried by the frame and having a depending shaft, a liquid handling pump carried by the frame below the motor and including a case with a central inlet opening into which the shaft extends with clearance and a rotor in the case driven by the shaft, there being a peripheral outlet opening in said case, and a vertically disposed baffle plate carried by the frame above the case and extending radially relative to the shaft to a point in the vicinity of the inlet opening to check circular motion of liquid in the vicinity of said open- BRYANT ESSICK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 782,343 King Feb. 14, 1905 1,665,686 Davis Apr. 10, 1928 1,785,557 Oberdorfer Dec. 16, 1930 1,812,874 Hedglon July 7, 1931 2,015,210 Witzel Sept. 24, 1935 2,103,371 Kleckner Dec. 28, 1937 2,130,940 Witt Sept. 20, 1938 2,205,747 Klauss -1--- June 25, 1940 2,233,991 Walters Mar. 4, 1941 2,295,982 Widman Sept. 15, 1942 2,369,282 Curtis et a1 Feb. 13, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date France Aug. 11, 1930 

